Hugh Mcdonald

During the four years that detectives searched for Newport Beach attorney Hugh "Randy" McDonald in connection with a murder case, another branch of government sent him checks totaling more than $20,000 that he used to live on. The Social Security Administration mailed the monthly disability checks to McDonald's San Fernando Valley bank for at least the last year, unaware that detectives wanted to question him as a possible suspect in the 1997 slaying of a businessman's wife.

During the four years that detectives searched for Newport Beach attorney Hugh "Randy" McDonald in connection with a murder case, another branch of government sent him checks totaling more than $20,000 that he used to live on. The Social Security Administration mailed the monthly disability checks to McDonald's San Fernando Valley bank for at least the last year, unaware that detectives wanted to question him as a possible suspect in the 1997 slaying of a businessman's wife.

The trail of murder suspect Hugh "Randy" McDonald seemed to end at the foot of the Golden Gate Bridge. Yards away, a car belonging to the Orange County attorney sat abandoned. His business card and watch teetered on the bridge's ledge. The scene bore all the hallmarks of a suicide. And homicide detectives believed at first that McDonald had leaped into San Francisco Bay after becoming a suspect in the killing of a woman in Villa Park.

The trail of murder suspect Hugh "Randy" McDonald seemed to end at the foot of the Golden Gate Bridge. Yards away, a car belonging to the Orange County attorney sat abandoned. His business card and watch teetered on the bridge's ledge. The scene bore all the hallmarks of a suicide. And homicide detectives believed at first that McDonald had leaped into San Francisco Bay after becoming a suspect in the killing of a woman in Villa Park.

Travel agents, aircraft owners and other carriers are among those that may lose money in the latest airline bankruptcies. Plane maker Boeing Co., regional airline Pinnacle Airlines Corp. and online travel agencies Travelocity and Orbitz are all on the hook after Delta Air Lines Inc. and Northwest Airlines Corp. filed for bankruptcy protection Wednesday.

Irvine financier Danny Pang, accused by the government of operating a Ponzi scheme, received at least $83 million in inflated fees, salary and loans from his investment firm before it was seized by federal regulators in April, according to unsealed court documents. Robert P. Mosier, a court-appointed receiver overseeing Pang's former company, Private Equity Management Group Inc., made the assertion in a report filed June 19.

QUESTION: Do you know a source from which I might order the older, nonhybridized fragrant white freesia? --S.F., Santa Monica ANSWER: A lot of people remember freesias smelling stronger than they do today, but I suspect it's much the same as remembering our first date as being prettier or more handsome than the date actually was.

An unusual boot-camp-style jail program that has helped a majority of graduates find jobs after their release is threatened by budget cuts planned by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. Directors of the 6-month-old program said they hope the County Board of Supervisors will provide the approximately $3.5 million needed to save it from the budget ax when special temporary funding runs out in September.